Philadelphia Phillies: Aumont gaining confidence for club and country

Philadelphia Phillies' Phillippe Aumont throws a pitch to the Cincinnati Reds in the ninth inning of a baseball game on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012, in Philadelphia. The Phillies won, 4-3 in eleven innings. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)

TAMPA, Fla. — Phillippe Aumont admittedly is ahead of most players in spring training as far as game-readiness goes. That’s because the Phillies reliever will pitch for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic. In fact, he heads to Arizona to join his national team Saturday.

When you throw in the fact that the right-hander already is bigger, stronger and throws gas with more ease than most pitchers,an added advantage seems almost criminal.

Aumont allowed one hit — a two-out single defensively poked to shallow center on an 0-2 count — while pitching a dominating scoreless fourth inning for the Phils in their 10-5 Grapefruit League win over the Yankees Friday. His fastball hit 95 mph, and Charlie Manuel sometimes wonders how hard the big, genteel Canuck was instigated.

“He has the size, and his mechanics on the mound...he’s nice and easy,” Manuel said of the 24-year-old, who had a 3.68 ERA and two saves while pitching in 18 of the Phils’ final 38 games last season. “There’s more there. Every now and then I want him to get mad and see how he’s got.

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“Seriously. I saw him last year throw 98 (mph), so he can really muscle it up there.”

Aumont has found a home in the bullpen after a rough beginning in the Phillies’ organization when he was acquired as part of the package from Seattle for Cliff Lee prior to the 2010 season. That spring his first impression with his new club was to get absolutely bombed by Florida State in a Grapefruit League exhibition start.

Aumont laughed when he brought up that moment. Three years later, even though it seems preposterous to imagine him not having a secure place in the Phils’ bullpen, he holds onto the humility of that moment as motivation.

“I was still young mentally,” Aumont said of his 2010 experience. “I was getting too amped up. I was nervous. I was thinking about other stuff rather than doing my job on the mound. I feel like I’ve overcome that in the last couple of years, especially last year toward the end. I felt like I matured a lot when I got to Philly.”

He certainly wasn’t coddled when he arrived in late August. The Phils immediately turned to him in set-up situations. In his debut he pitched a scoreless eighth in a tie game against the Reds — a game the Phils won in extra innings. And when the Phils won seven straight games in early September to get a glimmer of postseason hope, Aumont pitched five times in five days, including both ends of a doubleheader sweep of the Rockies.

“It definitely gave me a boost of confidence knowing that they were giving me the opportunity,” Aumont said, “and especially (since in) most of those games, I got the job done. It just elevates your confidence. Everything starts to smooth out. You don’t have to stress out about too much stuff. You just concentrate on getting your name called, get in the game and get the job done.”

Aumont did buckle in the final game of that 5-in-5 stretch — and few pitchers are effective with that type of workload. But Aumont sees it as a challenge. Even with Mike Adams in town to be the set-up man, he wants to be a horse the Phillies can turn to when they need him in any tight-and-late situation.”

“I have to be prepared for it,” he said, “(In the majors), it’s all about winning. In the minor leagues, you’re working on stuff. It’s not about winning. You don’t want a Triple-A ring. It doesn’t mean a whole lot on your resume. What you want is to prepare to pitch in the big leagues.”

In the short-term, Aumont will be preparing to pitch in the WBC for Canada. He certainly seemed game-ready Friday.

“It’s still camp, and I’m not trying to be ready right now,” Aumont said. “But I have to be ready for the tournament. It’s not (professionally) important, but still there’s the pride when you get on the field for your country. But my priority is to come back healthy and be able to compete for a job.

“I mean we don’t have Jimmy Rollins, but I think we have a good, well-rounded squad and everyone can put a little bit into the game. That’s how it is for Canada, we don’t have a whole lineup of guys from the big leagues, but we bring guys that can fill in the spot and we get together and we can do the job together.”